Improvement in car-starters



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N0.ll'52,956. I Patented May4,1875.v

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wrmEsS-Es A THE GRAPHIC C0.PHOTOLITH.39&4-l PARK PLACE,N.Y.

CHARLES J. SHAIN AND GEORGE L. WAITT, OF PHILADELPHIA, PA.

IMPROVEMENT IN CAR-STARTERS.

-\ Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. l62,956, dat d May4, B75; application filed February 26, 1R75.

To all whom t may concern:

Beit known that we, CHARLES J. SHAIN and GEORGE L. WAITT, of the cityand county of Philadelphia and State of Pennsylvania, have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements in Car-Starters, of which thefollowing is a specification The object of our invention is to soconstruct street-cars that the strain in starting them when overloadedis shifted from the body of the car to the wheels, in order to relievethe horses and enable them to set the carin motion. Various plans havebeen devised to accomplish this, in which the draft bar or slide actsupon ratehetwheels on the axles, to which the carrying-wheels are madefast, and the starting action effected by means of a lever and chainuniting the draft-bar with the ratchet, and in which the ratchet-leversact like pawls.

The combination of a ratchet-wheel with the draw-bar, and thestartingpawls carried thereby, is not claimed broadly; but my inventionconsists in providing the inner faces frof the car-wheels withwide-spaced ratchets,

and combines for action with pawls arranged in pairs at each side of thedraw-bar in positions to match the spaces, between the ratchets and drawthereon, in pairs in horizontal positions, whereby the starting force isexerted directly upon the car-wheels and near the circumference thereof,giving the greatest possible leverage with two strong starting-pawls foreach wheel.

The invention further consists in'combining with the said pawlsrest-plates, carried by the draw-bar, whereby the pawls are maintainedin horizontal positions for action upon the wheel ratchets, whichrevolve at Va height above the said pawl-rests, so that the actingshoulders of the pawls, while resting in a plane below the highestpoints of the ratchets, are held in such positions that they can easilypass over the ratchets as the draw-bar moves backward, but cannotdescend below such plane. The pawls are L-shaped, with their' armspivoted to the sides of the slide or drawbar, and their ratchet endsextending at right angles, so as to overlie the wheel-ratchets and givea free acting movement to the draw-bar between the wheels, and in closeproximity to the inner faces of the wheel-ratchets.

Figure l represents a longitudinal central setion of the ordinaryrunning gear and ooring of a street-car with our improvement appliedthereto, and with the parts in the positions they occupy for startingthe car; Fig. 2, a view of the same, showing the position of the deviceafter the car has been started by it 5 Fig. 3, a bottom view ot' therunning-gear or carriage of a car, with the starting device in theposition shown in Fig. l, Fig. 4, a

transverse sectional view taken on the line cc x of Fig. l; Fig. 5, adetail top view of the car, showing slots in the floor over the frontwheels, and through them the manner in which the pawls take into thetoothed wheels; and Fig. 6, a det-ail view of one of the toothed wheels,showing the pawls as they engage the wheel in starting a car.

The platform A represents the floorin g of a street car, and B theforward, and O the rear, wheels. lThe axles of these wheels are held intheir bearings in brackets D, which are secured to the lower bodytimbers of the car in the usual manner. A platform sliding frame, E, isarranged longitudinally under the body of a car, between the wheels, andis guided and sustained in its forward and backwardmovements by hangersF and anti-friction. rollers f f. The hangers F project below the frameE, and receive the journals of the rolls f f, which are arrangedcrosswise of the car underneath the sliding frame E to support the same,and permit it to slide to and fro with little friction. One of the rollsis situated forward ofthe wheels, and the other in the rear of them. Theframe E is open along its center to accommodate the pulley-post g, andpivoted to each side of this frame are two pawls, c e, the purpose ofwhich is to catch into the toothed or ratchet wheels G when the frame Eis drawnforward, and thus start the car. These wheels G are securedrigidly to the inner vertical faces of the front car-wheels B, and areformed with teeth all projecting one wayrearward upon their upperperipheries-to enable the pawls c c to take into them and not releasetheir hold until the ratchet-wheels have been turned part way round, andthe car started. The pulleypostg is bolted to the bottom ot' the car,and carries a suitable pulley, g', that is situated and turnshorizontally upon its lower projecting ends. Securely attached to theframe E, at its forward end inside of the central opening, is a stapleand ring, h, to which one end of a chain or rope, c', is fastened, and

from this point leads rearward around the pulley g', and thence forwardto and around the lower end of an ordinary brake-rod, k. rlhis rod isheld and permitted to turn atthe forward end of the frame A by suitablebrackets l, and has at its upper end the usual crankhandle. In the hoorof the car, as seen in Figs. 4t and 5, are slots m, through which accesscan be had to the pawls e e upon either side of the slide, to eitherraise them or turn them down, so as to catch the toothed wheels, whendesired. The brackets l have the double function of not only holding thecrank rod or brake k, but as they are firmly secured to the bottom Atheir rear ends, which are left broad, as at n, serve as stops for thesliding frame E, to limit its forward movement by the shoulders r, Fig.3, striking against them, and by which the car is drawn.

The operation ofthe starter is as follows: The evener is held by a pin,and between the usual metal straps or brackets p, attached to theextreme forward end of theY slide E, and the slide being in the positionshown in Figs. 1, 3, and 6, the horses are started, which draws theslide E forward and out, as shown in Fig. 2, which causes the pawls e e,from their weight, to engage the teeth of wheels G, and by drawing thesewheels forward turn the car-wheels and start the car. The leverage thusapplied to the wheels is great, and is sufficient to start a car underalmost any circumstance, or however much loaded. The slide being in theposition shown in Fig. 2, with the shoulder r resting against the stopsor brackets u, the horses draw the car, the strain being at this latterpoint and upon the body of the car, and thus shifted from the wheels.When the car is stopped, or in stop- .ping it, the slide E is thrown orforced backward into its normal position, as in Figs. l and 3, by thehorses drawing backward upon the tongue; when no tongue is used thebrake-rod 7c is turned by the driver when the car stops, which winds oneend of the chain or rope t' upon its lower end, and thus draws, by meansot' this brake-rod lf, pulley y', and staple h, the sliding frame E backinto position for bringing the strain upon the wheels when the horsesstart, as before. The :lide IE could, if desired, be held at the rear orforward position continually by tle usual ratchet and wheel upon thebrake-rod, or by a pin connecting the slide and car bottom.

It will be seen that the pawls c are so pivoted as to work in pairs inthe same horizontal line at the sides of the draw-bar or slide E, andthat they are maintained in horizontal positions by plates a a (see Fig.7) secured to the draw-bar E, and projecting just enough to formsupports for the pawls @,and keep them always sfo that while theiracting points will always catch into the wide spaced ratchets, and drawin pairs, (see Fig. 6,) thus giving a strong hold, as it were, upon eachcarwheel, the pawls cannot fall below the said rest-plates. The pawls ee are L-shaped, with the arms e2 c2 pivoted to the sides ofthe slides,and their acting-points c projecting outward, so as to overlie theratchets, as shown in Figs. 5 and 7, and thus allow the draw-bar to bebrought near the inner faces of the ratchets, as shown in Fig. rJlhisconstruction gives a strong and certain hohl ,upon the wide-spacedratchets, and applies the starting-power directly to the car-wheels,instead of by an independent ratchet centrally fixed upon the axle.' Bythe double pairs of ratchets actin g at the same moment a steady andstrong pull is made directly upon the tops of both front wheels, whichgives a good leverage and a comparatively easy start to the car.

We do not claim, broadly,the combination, with a ratchet, rigidlyattached to the axle, of a draw bar bearing pawls, which ride vfreelyover the ratchet when made to slide back, but drop by gravity into sucha position as to engage with the ratchets when the draw-bar is drawnforward, bein g aware that such combination is not new.

YV e claim- 1. The combination of car-wheels B with wide-spaced ratchetsG on their inner sides, draw-bar E, and pawls in pairs at each side ofthe draw bar, and matching the widespaced ratchets, all substantially asset forth.

2. The combination, with the pawls e e, of ratchets G at each side ofthe car, and restplates a, to maintain the pawls in horizontalpositions, as set forth.

3. The pivoted L-shaped pawl or pawls e in combination with thedraw-bar, to engage with their operative arms, the ratchets on the innerfaces of the car-wheels, but allow the slide to move between theratchet, substantially as set forth.

CEAS. J SHAIN. GEORGE. L. WAITT. Witnesses:

J. W. It. JERMON, E. W. SCHERR.

